{"id":228,"date":"2015-02-05T16:12:49","date_gmt":"2015-02-05T21:12:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/everydayballet.wpengine.com\/?p=228"},"modified":"2017-09-25T21:52:45","modified_gmt":"2017-09-26T01:52:45","slug":"the-7-movements-of-ballet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.everydayballet.com\/the-7-movements-of-ballet\/","title":{"rendered":"The 7 Movements of Dancing"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off”][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”post copy” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” text_font_size=”16″]<\/p>\n

Ballet is often regarded as the<\/em> most precise and difficult dance form in western culture. Though ballet includes hundreds of specific steps, the technique is based upon seven fundamental movements of the body. Ballet terms are French (a few are Italian) because the French were the first to codify ballet technique. The Acad\u00e9mie Royale de L\u2019Danse was formed in Paris in 1661 by Louis XIV to teach courtiers to dance and prepare ballets for the court. Below are the seven movements that provide the basis of ballet pedagogy.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Plier<\/em><\/strong> [plee-AY<\/em>] means \u201cto bend\u201d and describes the bending of the knees. Pli\u00e9s <\/em>are typically the first exercise performed at the barre. The pli\u00e9<\/em> is the single most\n
    \"pli\u00e8<\/a>
    pli\u00e8 in first position<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    important\u00a0step in ballet because it allows the knees and ankles to absorb the force of the movements in a fluid, spring-like way that makes dancing look elegant and effortless.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      \n
    1. \u00c9tendre<\/em><\/strong> [ay-TAHN-druh<\/em>] means \u201cto stretch\u201d and describes the stretching of the toe, ankle, and knee, resulting in the ballet aesthetic of a straight\u00a0leg with a pointed toe. Tendu<\/em> [tahn-DEW<\/em>] or \u201cstretched\u201d exercises typically follow pli\u00e9s and are critical for developing foot and leg strength.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        \n
      1. Glisser <\/em><\/strong>[glee-SAY<\/em>] means \u201cto glide\u201d and describes the sliding movement of the feet against the floor. Just like ice-skating, a smooth brushing of the foot propels the leg smoothly into extension and off of the ground.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
          \n
        1. Relever<\/em><\/strong> [ruhl-VAY<\/em>] means \u201cto rise\u201d and describes the lifting of the heels off the ground to balance on the ball of the foot. Women may also rise to the tips of their toes if they are wearing pointe shoes. Relev\u00e9s<\/em> build strength in the entire body but especially the foot, ankle, and calf muscles. A beautifully executed relev\u00e9<\/em>\u00a0can produce the effect of floating.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
          \"saut\u00e9\"<\/a>
          saut\u00e9<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
            \n
          1. Sauter<\/em><\/strong> [soh-TAY<\/em>] means \u201cto jump\u201d and is the natural progression from the\u00a0relev\u00e9.<\/em> The dancer pushes off from pli\u00e9<\/em> into the air, leaving the floor with pointed toes and extended legs. But the truly difficult part of a saut\u00e9 <\/em>is landing softly and quietly, which takes tremendous strength and control (and years!) to master.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
              \n
            1. Tourner <\/em><\/strong>[toor-NAY<\/em>] means \u201cto turn around\u201d and describes any turning of the body. Turns can be done in place, across the floor, or in the air. A pirouette<\/em> (whirl or spin) is done on one leg.\n
              \"pirouette<\/a>
              pirouette sur les pointes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

               <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                \n
              1. \u00c9lancer<\/em><\/strong> [ay-lahn-SAY<\/em>] means \u201cto dart.\u201d Movements done \u00e9lanc\u00e9 <\/em>are done in a darting manner along or just above the surface of the floor with strongly stretched legs and pointed toes. This term most often relates to jumping along<\/em>\u00a0rather than up.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                This short list leaves out one of the most iconic qualities of ballet movement\u2014the beautifully slow and sustained grace of the adagio<\/em><\/strong>. Ad agio<\/em> is an Italian term that means \u201cat ease.\u201d In ballet, an adagio<\/em> is the opening of a classical pas de deux<\/em>. It also describes a set of slow and fluid movements, usually balancing for periods of time on one leg. In reality, slow moving grace is anything but easy! Yet practicing the seven movements described above build the necessary strength, coordination, and control to move fluidly at any tempo. So the next time you think that learning ballet is like drinking from a fire hose, it may help to remember that you\u2019re really working towards perfecting the seven movements.<\/p>\n

                Happy Dancing!<\/strong><\/p>\n

                Tiekka<\/em><\/p>\n

                [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider admin_label=”Divider” color=”#cccccc” show_divider=”on” divider_style=”solid” divider_position=”top” hide_on_mobile=”on”] [\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_signup admin_label=”Email Optin” provider=”mailchimp” mailchimp_list=”118c17a147″ aweber_list=”none” title=”Everyday Ballet In Your Inbox!” button_text=”Subscribe Today!” use_background_color=”on” background_color=”#f986a5″ background_layout=”dark” text_orientation=”left” use_focus_border_color=”off” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” custom_button=”off” button_letter_spacing=”0″ button_use_icon=”default” button_icon_placement=”right” button_on_hover=”on” button_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ body_font_size=”17″ saved_tabs=”all”]<\/p>\n

                Subscribe to the Everyday Ballet newsletter and get weekly free EDB workouts, tips, nutritional advice and style-counsel from Everyday Ballet.<\/p>\n

                [\/et_pb_signup][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                [et_pb_section admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off”][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”post copy” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” text_font_size=”16″] Ballet is often regarded as the most precise and difficult dance form in western culture. Though … <\/p>\n

                Continue reading “The 7 Movements of Dancing”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1852,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[9,7,8,5,12,6,10,11],"class_list":["post-228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-journal","tag-adagio","tag-ballet-moves","tag-ballet-technique","tag-dance-movements","tag-pirouette","tag-plie","tag-saute","tag-tendu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.everydayballet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.everydayballet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.everydayballet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.everydayballet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.everydayballet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=228"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.everydayballet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.everydayballet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.everydayballet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.everydayballet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.everydayballet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}